Rail Cost More Expensive Than Car Cost

Thursday, 25. September 2014

You may or may not know that taxi fares are calculated (automatically via software in the metre) using a mixture of time and distance. For example, the cabs in London travelling between 06.00 and 22.00 on a normal weekday (excluding bank holidays) charge according to Tariff 1. For the first 252.4 metres or the first 27.1 seconds (whichever is reached first) there is a minimum charge of £2.40.

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For each additional 126.2 metres or 27.1 seconds (whichever is reached first), or part thereof, if the fare is less than £17.40 then there is a charge of 20p. Once the charge has reached £17.40 the charge increases to 20p per 88.5 metres or 19 seconds (whichever is reached first), or part thereof.

As it’s easier to calculate the cost per mile than per hour (we don’t know the speed the cab will travel at) the rate goes from £15.30 per mile to £2.55 per mile after the minimum charge then it increases again to £3.64 per mile once the charge reaches £17.40. All very complicated but converting into a cost per mile provides us with a better perspective.

So I was quite surprised to read a totally different perspective on rail fares following the last, above inflation, fare rise announcement. It was not only shocking but also gave us a very good reason why people are still not choosing to take public transport over their precious car. The report suggested that peak time rail fares are one of the worst value items, sitting alongside car insurance, inner city/airport parking, energy bills and car mechanics charged by some dealers at £200 per hour.

The columnist explained that his short, early morning trip cost an amazing £1.20 per minute travelled or £72 per hour. So comparing that with a black cab after the minimum charge of £2.40 you pay 20p per 27.1 seconds or £0.44 per minute or £26.40 per hour. Is it me and the columnist, Mike Rutherford, or is this madness? He calculated that those doing the 121 minute trip between Manchester and London during peak time costs them £1.33 per minute or £80 per hour.

He points out that it is just a matter of time before 2nd class peak travel will reach £100 per hour or £150 per hour first class. Apparently an annual season ticket between London and Manchester costs £14,000 which works out at £1.33 per minute. He then compared that with the cost of a new Mini which, after allowing for ALL running costs including the cost of the car, fuel, insurance, servicing, RFL, depreciation etc. it came in at 33p per minute if you assume an average 60mph.

Now this may be a little unrealistic but it puts rail travel into context. No wonder people still want to avoid train travel! By Graham Hill

Auto Express Best Car Awards 2014

Sunday, 3. August 2014

Auto Express has published its list of award winning cars which I am listing below staring with their car of the year, The Mini. It is the first time the Mini has won the Auto Express car of the year award even though it is now into its third generation.

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Mini (marque)

Mini (marque) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well done Mini, still one of my most popular cars and still providing great value for money with the rates we can currently offer. Other awards are as follows with one or two shockers. For full details of the awards you should subscribe to Auto Express:

Car Of The Year                  Mini (on offer)

Best City Car                       Skoda Citigo

Best Supermini                     Ford Fiesta (on offer)

Best Premium Small Car      Mini (on offer)

Best Compact Family Car    Seat Leon (on offer)

Best Crossover                     Nissan Qashqai (on offer)

Best Family Car                   Mazda 6 (on offer)

Best Estate Car                    Seat Leon ST

Best Compact Executive     BMW 3 Series (330d on offer)

Best Executive Car              Audi A6 (on offer)

Best Luxury Car                  Mercedes S Class

Best Hot Hatch                    Seat Leon Cupra (on offer)

Best Coupe                          Jaguar F-Type (on offer)

Best Convertible                  Audi A3 Cabriolet

Best MPV                            Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Best Compact SUV             Porsche Macan

Best Large SUV                  Hyundai Santa Fe (on offer)

Best Roadster                      Porsche Boxster

Best Pickup                          VW Amarok

Best Performance Car          McLaren 650S

Design Award                      Volvo Concept Estate

Green Award                       BMW i3

Special Award                     Tesla*

Best Van                              Ford Transit (on offer)

Safety Award                      Nissan Safety Shield**

*The Tesla has received the award for its efforts in bringing luxury and speed to electric cars and without the backing of old established manufacturers. They are even in the process of installing fast superchargers at key locations that will allow drivers of their cars to ‘top up’ in half an hour giving a range of 170 miles (a full charge takes longer but offers a range of just about 300 miles), a 0-60 acceleration of 4.2 seconds and the level of luxury and gadgetry you wouldn’t even find in a top of the range premium brand. Who said electric vehicles are dead?

**Nissan Safety Shield is a range of safety devices fitted across much of their range of new cars showing that they take safety very seriously.

So there you have it. Auto Express’s list of their top cars, many of which we have on special offer. So get your quote requests across as soon as possible. By Graham Hill

Audi Develops A Way To Prevent Drivers From Waiting At Traffic Lights

Monday, 5. May 2014

Back in the 60’s, when I lived in Slough, obviously we are talking a very young age, they came up with a unique traffic calming system on the A4 that ran alongside the huge industrial estate.

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They had a series of traffic lights, about 8 I believe, and if you stuck exactly to 30mph you would breeze through the lot without stopping, much to the joy of the locals and much to the annoyance of them there strangers just passing through.

My dad would be sitting at the lights and a boy racer would turn up on the outside lane with his supped up Cooper S, sitting at the lights whilst revving the piston rings out of the car and glancing over at my dad who would have a bit of a wry smile on his face. Lights change to amber and the Cooper S is off like brown smelly stuff off a shovel.

Next set of lights he would be sitting there whilst the old man sedately cruised by at 30mph just as the lights turned. And so on and so on. Why have I shared these joyous memories with you? Because technology has finally caught up nearly 50 years later thanks to Audi. They have brought out a traffic light recognition system that they say could put an end to waiting at the traffic lights.

The system works via the in car’s Audi Connect which creates a link between the car and the local traffic light network. The system displays a required speed that the driver must stick to in order to smoothly glide through each set of traffic lights.

The system is apparently developed and ready to go. Can’t wait! Oh, and if you are driving down the A4 and the traffic calming is still operational I’d love to know. Drop me a line! By Graham Hill

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Do We Need A New Car Model Every Year?

Friday, 23. September 2011

Isn’t it about time the manufactures started to put their design staff on some internal company awareness courses or set them to work planning the layout of the staff canteen or something? Why should they do this? Because we have far too many cars and variants. Over the years we have seen the manufacturers start to change their cars every year with Read more »

Retro Cars – Not For Graham Hill

Saturday, 13. August 2011

Fiat 500

Image via Wikipedia

I know I’m getting pretty old and I don’t see things as I did when I was younger and I do yearn for some of the things that we enjoyed when we were younger but I don’t crave for 60’s music, black and white TV’s or Ford Cortina’s. When BMW brought the Mini up to date I thought it was brilliant but I could never get my head around the retro Fiat 500. It Read more »

See Which Cars Are Selling Most

Tuesday, 31. May 2011

BMW Logo in Düsseldorf Hellerhof: Hans Branden...

Image via Wikipedia

April saw an increase in the sale of premium cars such as BMW and Audi. Whilst new car sales suffered during the month the premium brands all saw growth. The companies that showed growth included Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, BMW and Saab. Jaguar was the only make to suffer with sales down 60%. BMW even got into the top 10 car sales with its 3 Read more »

Graham Hill’s Review Of A Daft Car

Wednesday, 4. May 2011

As you may or may not know Mini is owned by BMW who also own Rolls Royce. Well those clever (or totally daft) people at BMW have decided to create a Rolls Royce of Minis called the Mini Goodwood. The car will be built in the same way that the £285,000 Phantom would be built using the same materials! Just what we all need of course, Read more »

Know Your Rights Or Get Ripped Off.

Saturday, 5. March 2011

It seems that every week I read a similar story in Auto Express about a driver who has bought either a new or used car that has turned out to be a complete dog then struggled to get their money back. The fact is that the law is very clear on this point. If you buy faulty goods and a fault is found immediately or within the first 6 months you can return the goods and insist on a full refund. And the supplier must give you a full refund. On the other hand you can give the supplier the opportunity to either repair or replace the goods without losing your right to insist on a refund. In the latest case that Auto Express came to the rescue on a buyer of a new Hyundai i30 found the car starting to judder. The driver gave the dealership the opportunity to repair the fault which they attempted without success. The dealer and Hyundai offered a replacement but couldn’t guarantee that the fault would not exist in the replacement. This was 8 months later! The driver decided that he simply wanted his money back, which he received, after Auto Express stepped in – as a ‘gesture of goodwill.’ A gesture of bloody goodwill! It’s his legal right and he should also be entitled to compensation for the inconvenience. This infuriates me because dealers, supported by the manufacturers, feel they are above the law. It’s a disgrace but I really think that Auto Express should employ the services of a solicitor to bang off a formal letter each time they have a similar case to point out the driver’s legal entitlement and tell them to stick their ‘gestures of goodwill’ where the sun don’t shine. Have you experienced similar problems with a dealer not honouring your legal rights? Here’s a little graphic that I found on a Government website that may explain your rights a little easier than my wording:

By Graham Hill

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Some Amazing Advice If You’re Sold A Bad Car

Sunday, 27. February 2011

Knowing what you are doing when it comes to car finance is so important. I know I bang on about it all the time but let me be quite clear if you guess and get it wrong it could end up costing you a fortune. In a recent edition of Auto Express a lady bought a 5 year old Mini Cooper S Convertible for £10,500 from a main dealer under the Cherished Car scheme. On her way home a warning light came on and the ABS cut in when it didn’t need to. Already a clear case of faulty goods. She returned to the Read more »

New Cars Get Smaller To Meet CO2 Targets

Wednesday, 18. August 2010

I’m confused! It happens when you get older I’m told. Why am I confused? Well just as I started to get used to cars getting bigger, and not as a result of changing my glasses, manufacturers have started bringing out cars as big as a large shoe! Look at a new Clio – it’s about the same size as an old Megane. The VW Polo is easily as big as an early Golf and a Corsa has the size these days of an old Astra. As for Mini if, as I saw Read more »